Permutation wheel for keyless locks



`May 4 1926.

1,583,686 A. G. HATCH PERMUTATIQN WHEEL FOR KEYLESS L OCKS Filed Apri; 22, 1924 czg @D21 @sa f2 /4 ff zy 2f guna/Hola 3 i' Zagat-611 attenua# Patented May 4, 1926.

UNITED 5121x1115v ilxjrila'l oFFlcggy 1,583,6aiA

ALEXANDER GILoHHIsT HATCH, or HoNoLULU, TERRITORY or HAWAII, AssIefNoIt, f

BY DIRECT AND AMnsNr: ASSIGNMENTS, To W-ILHEYLEss Loox ooMPANIaM- ITED.

PERMUTATION 'WHEEL FOR KEYLESS LOCKS.

Application `led April 22, 1924. Serial No. 708,253.v

To all whom'z't may concern:

Beit known that I, ALEXANDER Gr. HATCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Honolulu, Territory )of Hawaii, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Permutation Vheels `for Keyless Locks,of which the :following is a specification. y

This invention' relates to A permutation wheels for keyless locks, such for example as the various types of locks shown and claimed in my prior Patent No.,'1,555,969, granted October 6,1925, and entitled Keylesslocl, of which this application is a continuation in part, and has for its principal object `to provide a permutation wheelv of this character which will be simplevin construction, vcomr paratively inexpensive tomanufacture 'and more eicient in` uselth'an those whichhave been heretofore proposed." 1 L l With the, above and ther iobjects inV view, which will appear uas the description proceeds, the invention consists'inthenovel details Vof construction and lcombinations and arrangements of parts, more fully 1 hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out 4in theappended claims. Y

Referring to the accompanyingdrawings Y v:forming a partei this specification inV which like reference characters designate like parts linally the views; f u Y M v Figure 1 is a central verticalsectiou al view, partly in elevation, of one of the forms oil'ock shown in my saidco-pending application., and' showing one fform of permutation wheel in placestherein';l n, Fig. 2 is anr enlarged centralsectional view fof the. form" of Wheel" shownl in Fig.` 1,; t Fig. 3 is a similar fwyofa slightlylmodilied'form ofwheelgg Fig. 4 is a-centralvertical vsectional view y offa still further modilied form; of wheel .wherein Ythe indicialare mounted .upon a A shiftable ring, so that thefcombination ofthe "lookmaybe readilychanged at will;4

,A 5 is asectional viewfof the form of wheel shown in Fig. ,Qtaken approximately on thelplanle indicated by theline 5-5 ofthe VVsaidtigure;

Fig'' is a 'central vertical'. sectional view on a lstill further modifiedV form of wheel,

4 `somewhatsimilar to ,that shown in Figst and' 5, but in which the indicia bearing ringv 'z' t is Vf'rictionally mounted; and. i

' Fig. 7 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, ofthe-'parts shown in Fig. 6.

Referring more particularly to f" the' said drawings, the numeral/10 indicatesa'lock casing in which is slida-bly mounteda locking bolt 11, which isf operableY byfmeansof the bolt shafty 12, whichijs provided at one end with a lrnurledfhead; 'or linger rpiece "153,

and at theotherlend l'with ldisc-lil, which ""5 hasa pin and slot' connection with the said bol-till, all' as is f'ullyfdisclosed' in4 my kprior Patent No. 1,555,969.' `f 5 `A 5f The boltfll is fprovidedwith 'one'or more depending legs 15, whichfare provided'at their Alower extremities with the 'angularl'y Vprojecting toes 16,*"which areadapte`d]to project under or overfthe:y annul'ar'p'rojecting rib or flange 17, which4 is rigidlyformed y y wheel. 18. The said disc ori wheel i's-rotetablyY mounted upon a Vshaft 19 andthe said flange or rib 17 is cutaway as' vindicated "upon one face "of the permuta-tion? disc or 5"' at 20,to permit the passage `A fromthe inside orV the said- Vflange .to the' outsidethereof of .The outer `circumference otfthe disc for vwheel 18 'is provided with a 'plurality odi depressions 21, equally'spaced aroundpits circumference, which depressions are'fada'p'tedto not onlya'lfford ymeansvvhereb'ythe' disc y v may be adaptedto receive a v bent' portion 22Jof 'a detent-` spring"23, whichjis suitably* secured v to the lock ,casing 10, fas) by the@` screw` y 24:.

The portionsoi the circumference ogthe Areadily turned, but which aref-Salso wheel between thev said depressions2l "bear suitable ,indicia engraved therein 'orotherwise applied thereto", su'chi'or examplefa'sfthe numerals Jfrom zero to nine; i I

A.The form of'wheel hown is the simplest vlorm, andgp'robably the most inexpensive 'to' f manufacture, and the*` `form except fthat a second concentricfiannular'rib in Fig.v 3 is substantially they Asame therefronnrso vas 'to` provide Vanefannular Vv"groove'7'26f into which thefprojecting toe-16 said toe 16 to beI withdrawn therethrough when it is desired to dissemble the lock.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the disc or wheel 18, in addition of being provided with the annular flange 17, has its opposite face cutfaway, as indicated at 30, to receive a clamping ring 31, the outer circumference of which is in turn, cut away as indicated at 32, to provide an annular groove in which is seated an indicia bearing ring' 33 carrying suitable raised indicating characters 33. The said ring 33 is provided with the arcuately spaced notches or depressions 34 similar to the depressions 21, above described, and the outer circumferences of the Wheel 18 and the ring 31are correspondingly cut away so that the said notches extend completely through the thickness of the assembled wheel.

The clamping ring 31 is secured to the body of the disc 13 by suitable screws 35, while the ring 33 is secured to the ring 31 by a screw 36. The said ring 33 is Vprovided with a threaded hole 37 for each of the indicia, which are provided on its circumference so that b merely 'removing the screw 36 and shifting the ring 33 arcuately, it is possible to change the relative positions of the members and thereby afford a ready means for changing the combination necessary to open the lock.

In order to facilitate the operation of the lock, by the sense of touch, one of the characters provided upon the circumference of the ring 33 may be raised above the normal circumference, as. indicated at 38, so that by turning the wheel until this raised character is felt, it is possible to then move the same the required number of notches by the sense of touch or by the sense of sound, since a slight click will be given by the spring, such as 23, as it engages the notches 34.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the indicia bearing ring 33, instead of being positively secured to the clamping ring 31 is merely frictionally held in place upon the body of the disc 18 by the said ring 31. Theinner portion 40 o-f the said ring 33 may be made of a` thickness sufficient to cause the same to be frictionally engaged by the surface 41 of the ring 31 when the latter is tightened by means of the screws 35, so that the said indicia bearing ring may be securely held against arcuate movement by frictional engagement. However, should it be desired to change the combination, this can be readily done by either backing off slightly on the said screws 35 to reduce the friction, and then shift-ing the ring, after .which the screws may be again tightened, or the friction between'the disc-31 and the ring 33 may be so adjusted that the said ring may be shifted by the application of sufiicient force, without loosening the screws, While at the same time the said friction will be sufficient to prevent the unintentional shifting of the ring 33 during the normal operation of the lock. y

In this form of the invention, vthe body portion 13 of the disc is shown as provided with the second annular flange or rib 25 which, in this instance, is not provided with a cut away portion, such as 27, shown in Fig. 3, whereby the said flange will act as a protection against the insertion of a thin blade or member between the indicia ring 33 and the casing of the lock in a-n endeavor to feel the position of the cut away portion 20 whereby` it might be possible for unauthorized persons toopen the lock by turning the wheel to the proper position to permit the passage of the toe 16 through t-he cut away portion 20, after they had located its position relative to the ring 33.

In this form, the outer circumference of the ring 33 is shown as provided with equidistantly spaced raised projections 42, 'between which the indicia such as letters of the alphabet are placed. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the Working-of the combination by the sense of touch or sound, two of these projections are omitted as indicated at 43 so that by turning the wheel until this smooth place on its circumference is felt, it will be possible for the operator to locate a certain indicating character after which the required number of movements may be made to bring up the desired character.

The detent spring, such at 23, may, of course, bear directly upon the outer surface of the ring 33, but it is preferred to provide notches 44 on the circumference of the clamping ring 31, which may beengaged by the detent springs, as in the preceding forms. f

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the detailsof construction as well as the arrangement of parts without de- .y parting from the spirit of the invention,

and therefore it is not wished to be limited to the above disclosure eXcept as may be required by the accompanying claims.

l/Vhat is claimed is:

1. A permutation wheel for a keyless lock comprising a disc having a laterally extending annual rib separating two unobstructed1 concentric, annular l spaces adapted to form endless passageways ad-v obstructing element of a look mechanism, a concentric Wheel setting element journaled on said lock-controlling element, and of a relative diameter such as to adapt it to be extended through a slotted casing so as to be accessible for manipulation, a friction clutch, and variable .clamping means for said clutch whereby its effectiveness may be adjusted at Will, said clutch aiordng a coupling whereby said lock-controlling 10v element may be rotated by said setting element to a set position but may be held fast in set position during relative rotation of said element to change the combination of the lock in which the Wheel is used. *Y

ALEXANDER GILCHRIST HATCH. 

